Strikethrough Text Fast: Keyboard Shortcuts for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Docs, and Gmail

Strikethrough is one of those formatting tools you don’t think about—until you need it constantly. It’s used for marking completed tasks, showing revisions, indicating deletions without removing text, and keeping a visible “history” of changes.

This guide covers exact keyboard shortcuts and reliable alternatives for Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, plus Google Docs and Gmail, across Windows, Mac, and web where it applies.

What strikethrough actually does (and when to use it)

Strikethrough draws a horizontal line through text. Common uses:

• To-do lists: show something is done without deleting it.
• Editing: show removed words while keeping context.
• Documentation: deprecate commands/features (“do not use”) while keeping them visible.
• Email workflows: indicate handled items inside a draft.

Microsoft Word (Windows & Mac)

Fastest strikethrough shortcut (Windows)

Shortcut: Ctrl + D → then press Alt + K

How it works:

1. Select the text you want to strike through.
2. Press Ctrl + D to open the Font dialog.
3. Press Alt + K to toggle Strikethrough.
4. Press Enter.

This is the most consistent built-in method because Word doesn’t ship with a one-keystroke toggle by default.

Ribbon method (Windows/Mac)

1. Select text
2. Go to Home tab → Font group → click Strikethrough (the “abc” with a line)

Mac notes

Word for Mac often doesn’t provide a universal, default single shortcut either. Your best options are:

• Use Ribbon (Home → Font → Strikethrough), or
• Customize the Ribbon / Keyboard in Word settings to assign your own shortcut (ideal if you strikethrough frequently).

Pro tip: If you use strikethrough daily in Word, it’s worth assigning a custom shortcut so it becomes a true toggle like Docs.

Microsoft Excel (Windows & Mac)

Excel is the easiest in Microsoft Office because it has a built-in sequence that acts like a shortcut toggle.

Strikethrough shortcut (Windows)

Shortcut: Ctrl + 5

Steps:

1. Select a cell (or highlight part of the text in the formula bar if needed).
2. Press Ctrl + 5 to toggle strikethrough.

Mac

Many Mac Excel setups also support Cmd + Shift + X in some environments, but it varies by version and keyboard layout. The most reliable approach is:

Use the Format Cells dialog:

Select cells → Format Cells → Font → check Strikethrough

Best practice: If Ctrl + 5 doesn’t work on your Mac, create a custom shortcut or use Format Cells for consistency.

Microsoft PowerPoint (Windows & Mac)

PowerPoint behaves more like Word: no universal one-hit default shortcut across all installs.

Windows (consistent built-in method)

Shortcut: Ctrl + T or Ctrl + D (depending on version) to open font options → toggle strikethrough

The reliable workflow:

1. Select text in a text box.
2. Open Font dialog (varies by build; commonly Ctrl + D in Office apps).
3. Toggle Strikethrough and confirm.

Ribbon method (Windows/Mac)

1. Select text inside a text box
2. Home tab → Font group → Strikethrough

Tip for presentations: Strikethrough is great for live presentations when you want to mark agenda items “done” without deleting them mid-slide.

Google Docs (Web)

Google Docs has one of the best strikethrough shortcuts—simple and consistent.

Strikethrough shortcut

• Windows / Chromebook: Alt + Shift + 5
• Mac: ⌘ (Command) + Shift + X

How to use:

1. Highlight text
2. Use the shortcut to toggle strikethrough instantly

Menu method

Format → Text → Strikethrough

Tip: Because it’s a toggle, you can use it like a quick “done” marker for checklists and collaborative editing.

Gmail (Web)

Gmail is the tricky one: there is no official, default strikethrough keyboard shortcut built into Gmail’s composer.

But you still have good options depending on what you’re trying to do.

Option 1: Use formatting toolbar (fastest native way)

1. Compose or reply
2. Click the A (Formatting options) at the bottom
3. Click Strikethrough (usually shown as “S” with a line)

Option 2: Paste strikethrough text from elsewhere (best workaround)

If you already wrote the message in:

• Google Docs (supports shortcut)
• Word
• Another editor with strikethrough

…apply strikethrough there and paste into Gmail. Gmail generally preserves rich-text formatting in the composer.

Option 3: Use “text” if you just need a visual cue

Gmail doesn’t convert Markdown to strikethrough by default, but many people use:

~~this~~

as a human-readable strikethrough indicator (especially when writing to technical teams).

Quick reference cheat sheet

Word

• Windows: Ctrl + D, then Alt + K, then Enter
• Mac: usually Ribbon or custom shortcut

Excel

• Windows: Ctrl + 5
• Mac: varies; use Format Cells if shortcut doesn’t work

PowerPoint

• Windows/Mac: Ribbon (Home → Font → Strikethrough) is most reliable
• Some versions: Ctrl + D → toggle strikethrough

Google Docs

• Windows/ChromeOS: Alt + Shift + 5
• Mac: Cmd + Shift + X

Gmail

• No default strikethrough keyboard shortcut
• Use formatting toolbar or paste formatted text

Troubleshooting (when shortcuts don’t work)

• Laptop keyboards / function layers: some combos conflict with system shortcuts; try the menu method.
• Different Office versions: Word/PowerPoint shortcuts can vary by build and policy settings.
• Browser conflicts (Docs/Gmail): extensions and accessibility shortcuts can override key combos.
• Mac layouts: shortcuts can change depending on language/region keyboard.